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TSUNAMI AND THE NET

THE POWER OF the Internet to knit people in far-flung countries into a truly global community is on display in the wake of the catastrophic tsunami. The outpouring of sympathy and assistance from people in several nations on an unprecedented scale has given to the cyberweb a much-needed social purpose. It has enhanced its reputation for promoting not merely free speech but a developmental partnership at the level of ordinary citizens, in the citizen sector (to use the new terminology). In some places, even before television cameras arrived, individuals who had faced the onslaught of the waves used a combination of text messages sent through cellular telephones and the emerging world of weblogs to post brief but authentic accounts of the calamity. That first wave has since been replaced by more detailed accounts on blogs by journalists and dedicated voluntary reporters who have formed a rewarding partnership with their peers in cyberspace to locate missing people and help co-ordinate relief supplies. Even if there were some stories of failure, of frustration over the absence of useful information about the fate of individuals despite postings made on websites, the Internet has on the whole been genuinely successful in weaving a live web of support for tsunami victims.

The spontaneity of sentiment evoked by the tsunami havoc in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and other countries is reflected in the record-breaking instant online donations made to many organisations across the world. In just four days, the International Red Cross reported that it had received over $47 million and the UNICEF $20 million, the bulk of it from Internet users. Commercial websites were also spectacularly successful in mobilising donations from visitors and Amazon, among the better-known companies in cyberspace, could garner a reported $12 million in less than a week. In a heartening gesture matching the scale of the tragedy that has killed many thousands of people and rendered a staggering number destitute, non-resident Indians and others have used the Internet to contribute generously to the various funds set up for relief, including one sponsored by this newspaper.

Astute administrators everywhere will no doubt learn from the tsunami experience lessons about the Internet's role in forging a constructive partnership with the citizen sector. Authorities are likely to realise that if they had paid more attention to the e-governance agenda, it would have been possible for them to create functional networks at various levels of administration to co-ordinate the relief effort and broadcast the rehabilitation needs more effectively. Such a network would also have helped those living abroad to make contributions to the relief effort in various ways. For those living in the countries and regions affected, it would have been possible not just to donate money but also to offer their expertise and services for rehabilitation. Some of the most visited sites today are the blogs that are constantly updated with information on the relief effort. Private individuals are providing updates with commendable sincerity through their own blogs, or those run by agencies and news organisations. The downside to the Internet is also showing in the tsunami aftermath, though it is an unimportant side effect compared with a much larger positive outcome. From hoax emails that briefly played on the anxiety of people whose kin were missing to the stray attempts at skimming off donated funds through fake websites, the unscrupulous have tried to cash in on the tragedy. Happily, the Internet seems to have self-healing characteristics and such practices tend to get exposed soon after they surface.

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